Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires New Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 644,364 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $159,029,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.11% of Lowe's Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,498,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $116,696,000 after acquiring an additional 7,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $224.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,739,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,515,436. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.46 and a 200-day moving average of $243.80.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

About Lowe's Companies

Lowe's Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical.